We grew them in S. California where you can grow flowers in winter. I have purchased them as bedding plants in spring, but we go straight from winter to summer here. You may be able to time them right and have success as someone on this forum grows sweet peas successfully.
The only way I've found to get these sort of stocks to reach any kind of satisfactory size before the heat burns them up is to start them in the fall. Pick your varieties carefully as not all the hybrids are fragrant. They are so quick to resent heat, that I no longer bother with them. When I did grow them, I used them in containers.
I don't know if it will help or not. I knew someone who grew these on the north side of her house. They received morning sun, the cool shade all day. She put hers in hanging baskets. Bonnie
